Chevron plans to cut 950 jobs in Houston by the end of 2015 as part of a plan to eliminate about 1,500 jobs worldwide in an ongoing environment of low oil prices.

The San Ramon, California-based energy major said it is reducing jobs across its corporate centers, so 950 will be in Houston and about 500 jobs will be cut in San Ramon, said Chevron spokeswoman Melissa Ritchie. About 50 job cuts will come internationally, she added.

Another 600 or so staff contractors positions also will be reduced from 24 groups in the corporate center, Ritchie said, so many of those cuts will come from Houston and San Ramon as well. Out of the 1,500 permanent position reductions, about 270 of them are existing vacancies.

“In light of the current market environment, Chevron is taking action to reduce internal costs in multiple operating units and the corporate center,” Ritchie said in a prepared statement. “These initiatives, which are currently underway, are focused on increasing efficiency, reducing costs and focusing on work that directly supports business priorities. Efforts in our corporate center are targeting cost reductions of approximately $1 billion. Additional cost savings are expected to be achieved across the enterprise.”

Chevron currently counts about 8,000 Houston-area employees and fewer than 65,000 workers worldwide. Chevron had closer to 9,000 Houston workers two years ago.

Chevron previously had nixed employee growth plans for Houston and halted plans in late 2013 to build a 50-story downtown office tower. Chevron had previously said the tower was being delayed until at least 2016.

“Chevron does not anticipate final approvals for a new office building in Houston in the near term,” Ritchie added. “We remain committed to the new building, however we continue to exercise strong capital discipline when assessing and prioritizing investments.”